I’ve observed aviation for more years than I’m comfortable admitting. As an aviation journalist I’ve often had a front row seat. I’ve talked to a ton of pilots (one of the great joys of my life is to have met so many fine folks). Over those years, I’ve distilled the kind of pilots we are to one or the other. Yes, just that simple: this kind or that. *** I believe you either fly to “Get Up,” or “Go Long.” Go Long flyers include all those who want to go some distance in their flying machine. Flying your own plane is a great way to travel. Speed is a big part of why flying is useful but that quality is merely one aspect of the enjoyment. *** Me? Sure, I like to Go Long. I’ve logged hundreds of hours of cross country flying, to all corners of America and some out of the USA.
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Aviation Jobs, American Style
Good news from Allegro LSA’s head honcho Doug Hempstead, as he spoke with Plane & Pilot publisher Mike McMann. *** Allegro, now a solely-American made, composite/aluminum SLSA (my flight report is due out soon in the magazine) told Mike he expects to hire as many as 35 workers within the next year. These are jobs that were formerly held by Czech Republic personnel. *** Allegro is a Czech-designed airplane (Fantasy Air) that, like so many LSA, was built in Czech Republic and assembled, test flown and delivered in the States. *** Doug and his wife Betty bought the rights to produce the airplane here and production is now underway at the company’s Sanford, NC plant. *** More than 450 of the Kevlar-composite fuselage/aluminum wing Allegros have been sold since 1994, mostly overseas. The Hempsteads hope to change that proportion…and employ more Americans in the process. *** Three Allegro models are offered: Classic Trainer at $89,000 (also configurable as an IFR trainer), Voyager at $94,000 (adds things like MGL Voyager EFIS, Garmin radio and transponder and vertical card compass), and Executive at $99,000 (adds two Dynon Skyview Synthetic Vision displays).
Full-Blown Midwest LSA Expo
That title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, since the first day of the Midwest LSA Expo here in Mount Vernon, IL was what you’d call winnnnnndy! *** The big storm front grounded our flight of two Evektor SportStar MAXs two hours east of here Wednesday. That was after our long, headwind-bashing flight from Art Tarola’s Allentown, PA AB Flight center that added two extra hours to the journey (glad it was a MAX — super comfortable airplane to fly and spend time in). *** The heat and humidity (95 degrees) at least had 25 knot winds to help keep it bearable all day, but there was no flying to speak of until the last hour of the day when the wind died down. *** I took the opportunity to jump up and shoot a few landings with Bill Canino in his iCub, which was a hoot.
Best LSA Picks of 2010
More than 20 Top LSA You Can Buy
The light-sport aircraft industry hangs in there, although sales numbers, as with general aviation, still struggle to gain safe altitude in the stormy economic skies. Encouraging item: LSA sales in 2009 represented nearly 25% of all GA piston purchases. Another surprise: Most of the 107 models available for sale here and abroad are still in production with more new models in the pipeline! Nobody’s getting rich (this is aviation, remember?), but most makers believe the turnaround will come. That’s the spirit!
And with the Euro taking heat against the dollar lately as Europe goes through its own econoclysm, U.S. prices for foreign-produced LSA could drop. Many airframe makers lowered prices, but the industry still faces challenges: ongoing dyspepsia imbued by the sluggish recovery; market recognition… many people still aren’t aware of what an LSA is, maybe that’s why 20% of all U.S. sales in the U.S.
Budget Builds (Low Cost Homebuilts)
Yes! You can build and fly a “real” airplane for the cost of a new SUV.
Contrary to popular opinion,
airplanes don’t have to be outrageously
expensive-at least not
all of them. The Sport Pilot/Light-Sport
Aircraft initiative is one program that
promises to lower the cost of ready-to-fly
aircraft. But many of these Special LSAs
and Experimental LSAs will be priced
well more than $40,000 and can run
upwards of $85,000.
One way to get airborne for less
than $40K is to choose an ultralight,
powered parachute or weight-shift
trike. But if you want something more
conventional, more comfortable or
larger, you’re likely to find what you
want in the world of kit aircraft. After
all these years, building an Experimental/
Amateur-Built airplane still qualifies
as one of the least expensive ways
to get a get a great airplane into the air
on a reasonable budget.
Our $40K benchmark is designed
to narrow the field for builders on a
budget-and that benchmark means
a completed, ready-for-flight airplane.
Breezer Aircraft and the New Breezer II
Close to Perfect
It usually takes more than one
try to get something right. To
get close to a perfect aircraft
usually takes many iterations, but
Breezer Aircraft has come very close
to producing a wonderful light sport
aircraft with their Breezer II.
We’ve seen the Breezer before when
the U.S. importer brought the thennew
model to AirVenture Oshkosh
’05. I flew it that year and recently
got the chance to fly the Breezer II.
While many of the good qualities
found in the earlier model were
retained, some nice improvements
have been made. But it isn’t the airplane
that is the real story. As experienced
airplane buyers know, it is
often the company behind the airplane
that is the main story.
Breezer’s Brief Design History
The design history is brief because the Breezer
is a new aircraft, not seen before ’05 except during
its early development. That older, original Breezer
was produced under agreement by Comco-Ikarus,
the same folks that make one of Germany’s bestselling
ultralights (a different class than American
ultralights), the C-42.
GPS Alien vs. Predator
Yesterday in our Ultraflight Radio interview Jim Sweeney and I compared and contrasted two red-hot digital instruments for the cockpit: the Adventure Pilot iFly 700 and the Apple iPad with its tons of aviation apps; see my earlier post on the Zlin iCub. *** To learn more about these two amazing digital toys I also swapped emails with Walter Boyd of Adventure Pilot, who created and does all the incredible programming for the iFly 700. *** Full Disclosure: I just bought an iFly 700 yesterday — couldn’t deny myself any longer! *** First, the iPad, (projected to sell at least 6 million units by year’s end — over 3 mil already!), offers much more than a GPS moving map. As Walter acknowledges, it’s a portable computer optimized for viewing rather than producing information, as on a laptop or netbook. *** Next, it’s big: a 9.7 inch diagonal, beautiful bright screen.
iPad Comes To The Cockpit!
If you want to have a rocking good time without ever leaving your seat, check out this video clip of an upcoming film titled, “No Second Chances.” Billed as “an Alaskan bush adventure on steroids” if this teaser is any indication, ho shee mama, this ought to be some flick! *** The bigger news, as Dan Johnson covered earlier with some interesting historical perspective, is the announcement by SportairUSA of the Bush iCub. *** Dan points out that the new LSA isn’t another Cub Clone a la the Legend or CubCrafters versions, but an evolution of the Savage Cub, Cruiser and Classic line of light sport airplanes put out by the Czech Republic’s Zlin Aviation since 1999. *** I’d like to get my hands on the Bush version and go do some dirt-whompin’. It’s got a 7-inch extended landing gear, 1.25-inch axles, big fat bush wheels and other mission-specific enhancements.
Cool Sectional Map-Based Portable GPS
Hands down my favorite of the entire Sun ‘n Fun show was the iFly 700 GPS which has nothing to do with the iPhone but is, for pilots, just as cool for its innovative features and really affordable price: $499! *** Super easy to do a flight plan: Tap an airport with your finger on the screen and menus pop up to select a waypoint or as your final destination. *** Never buy another sectional; they’re continually updated as part of the $69/year subscription service, which also includes IFR enroute charts and lots of other features. *** The company owner/designers told me there will be some eye-popping software upgrades coming down the pike. These guys have the programming mojo — one designed the Orbitz travel site for example. *** It comes with a suction mount, power cords, remote, carrying case and tons of features. *** Watch this company, it could be the beginning of a major product for in flight navigation.
FAA Sport Pilot Revision Is Out!
Some long-awaited revisions to the Sport Pilot Rule have just been released and as we’ve anticipated in earlier posts, there are positive improvements. *** First up: the restrictive 10,000-foot maximum altitude limitation for Light Sport flight, which among other scenarios restricted flying over high terrain such as in the Rockies, was amended to allow flight above the limit, with one important condition: pilots must remain at or below 2,000 feet AGL — whichever is greater. *** The proposal to change the original maximum altitude was made to address concerns of LSA pilots about flying safely in the mountains or over large bodies of water. *** Another concern was keeping sufficient altitude over sensitive wildlife areas, where 2,000 feet AGL or greater is often required. *** The rule change only allows for greater-than-10,000 feet if that altitude doesn’t put the airplane more than 2,000 feet above ground level.